Discussion for article #232537
This reeks.
First Pence ābalancesā the stateās books off replacing a huge chunk of the stateās share of constitutional obligations to provide a range of medical care to the poor, with creating then extending the notion of a āindividual health care accountsā down low enough to completely cover everyone anywhere close to the poverty line, and NOW heās made nice nice with Obamacare?
Thereās something rotten at work here.
Now, it could just be that Indiana has entered into a long-term agreement to phase out its health care accounts system for folks below a certain threshold - but WHOA Pence has got to know that IF he stays on for any significant period of time in state politics heās facing a whirlwind of backlash from resentful middle-class types stuck in the worst of both worlds (no federal Medicare extensions, no state-run exchanges and adoption of the Moops position in King v Burwell).
Is Pence THAT stupid that he figures folks wonāt catch on to this until heās āelected presidentā? Oh yeah - heās that stupid.
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I agree this deal, like all the other Republican-inspired Medicaid expansion āhybridā plans, involves a huge grift for the private insurance lobby, but apparently the President is more concerned about extending coverage to the working poor. Heās already approved a number of these types of plans.
Hopefully, if/when cooler heads someday prevail, these carve-outs for insurers and concessions to War on the Poor ideologues will give way to what was initially intended ā a straight up government-administered program not intended as a slush fund for well-placed special interests.
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While I am glad the 350,000 odd working class citizens of Indiana will be eligible for some kind of coverage, I believe HHS and the Administration need to STOP making these deals. Medicaid/Medicare expansion, just like everyone else or no deal and you go back to your bottom 20% and explain the deal. As a side note, how āironcladā are these deals? If the next President (not selected from a clown car) and the new head of HHS wanted to rescind the deal and for traditional M/M expansion could he/she?
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UGH! On the one hand, Iām glad that some low income people are getting access to healthcare. On the other, the idea that they have to chip in to monthly payments and get āhealth savings accountsā is pure BS. I realize that itās better than nothing at all. But - at what price??
[quote] Using the Healthy Indiana program, which sets up health savings
accounts, Indiana will require enrollees above the poverty level to make
monthly contributions. [/quote[ Sounds like a forced tax increase to me.
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Contribute or Die, Indianaās new state slogan and Governor Pence appears to be more Governor half-Pence.